MNHQ here: 'Pregnant then Screwed' is launching a campaign (and inviting you to a march on Halloween) - tell us what you think

[RowanMumsnet]

Hello

Some of you will know of the campaign group Pregnant then Screwed, which came to prominence a few years ago by highlighting women's experiences of pregnancy and maternity discrimination in the workplace.

On Halloween, they're holding marches in locations across the UK (London, Belfast, Cardiff, Manchester, Newcastle and Glasgow) to 'demand recognition, respect and change for working mums'. In deference to the day, they're inviting people to turn up dressed as mummies - the Walking Dead kind.

Here are the changes they're calling for. We know that in the past MNers have expressed support for more and better exclusive, paid paternity leave - but we'd love to know what you think about this list:

1. Increase the time limit to raise a tribunal claim from 3 months to (at least) 6 months for pregnant and postpartum women.

2. Require companies to report on how many flexible working requests are made and how many are granted.

3. Give fathers access to 6 weeks non-transferable paternity leave paid at 90% of salary.

4. Give the self-employed access to statutory shared parental pay.

5. Subsidise childcare from 6 months old, rather than 3 years old.

Over to you - and if you'd like to join the march you can find all the details here.

Thanks
MNHQ

just because they dare to create the next generation of tax payers that will be taking care of ALL OF US when we are old and frail!

Righto.

4) Give the self-employed access to statutory shared parental pay.

As long as they pay the correct amount if NI.

2) Require companies to report on how many flexible working requests are made and how many are granted.

It isn't just parents that are entitled to request flexible working.

Are you also going to distinguish between incorrectly made requests and that's why they are declined?

Agree with all points.

Some of the comments on this thread are so depressing.

2.2 million people stay at home to look after children, 60% of whom are looking to get back to work (My Family Care Survey 2015)

There is not a chance in hell that all those 2.2 million SAH parents were surveyed; therefore you cannot claim such a stat.

Perhaps 1,000 were interviewed and 60% of those wanted to get back to work, but you can't just scale it up.

Please learn how to use statistics.

Until then, I'll take everything else you claim with a pinch of salt.

I am completely in favour of all the proposals and will be marching. However, some of the figures need looking at again.

They receive maternity allowance rather than Statutory maternity pay (works out at about £5k less).

Maternity allowance and Stat mat pay are exactly the same amount, apart from the first 6 weeks, where SMP is 90% of your normal pay, but MA is the same rate for the whole period of leave. For stat mat pay to amount to £5000 more than MA, you would need to be earning over £50,000 a year surely?

Whattodo I think it's you who needs to learn how to use stats. Of course not all 2m were surveyed. But you do realise what a representative sample is?

Whattodo I think it's you who needs to learn how to use stats. Of course not all 2m were surveyed. But you do realise what a representative sample is?

Exactly! It makes me laugh so much when someone comes out with a rude sarcastic comment and gets it so wrong.

The only demand I am a bit confused about is number 3 and the 6 weeks paternity. Most women I know have had enough of their other half by week 2!!

If that's not tongue in cheek that's really sad.

Yup, I know what a representative sample is. I don't believe this is one.

I couldn't drive till 6 weeks were up so would have loved the support of my dh at home.

This thread is utterly depressing.

I’m too fed up to bother commenting beyond saying that while I was quite interested in this cause and follow Pregnant Then Screwed on instagram/Twitter, etc. but having had an insight into how many people still think discrimination isn’t an issue and we should choose work OR kids unless we’re lucky enough to have a lovely hubby to fund us I will now be engaging much more, doing my best to get along to a march and telling others about this!

It's great that you were such a martyr during your pregnancy. Personally I stopped working at 33 weeks because I was cooking for 250 people a night in a 40 degree kitchen. I also took a year off because I work at least 48 hours a week sometimes finishing at 2am with 5 minutes to myself to have a wee. It's really good that you took a phone call 48 hours after your birth though. Some of us were still recovering in hospital then. Some people are also lucky enough to have something called empathy.

It's worth bearing in mind, Lost that women most likely to suffer discrimination from employers are those who suffered difficult pregnancies and so are already written off before the baby even arrives. And a difficult pregnancy can often mean a high risk / difficult delivery, rendering you ill for a lot longer than 48 hours.

The rules are not supposed to only be for the lucky few, surely? They need to protect those who are suffering in order to be fit for purpose.

Completely agree with Unihorn. Not everyone is lucky enough to feel well up to delivering and not everyone makes an instant recovery. I was only just leaving hospital 48 hours after giving birth. Some people need more help and support than others. Hardly rocket science is it?

2) Require companies to report on how many flexible working requests are made and how many are granted

How exactly are you going to do this?

Firstly anyone can apply for flexible working. How exactly are you going to seperate them.

Secondly not everyone applies correctly.

5) Subsidise childcare from 6 months old, rather than 3 years old.

Paid for how exactly?

LostMyMojo - you are literally the only person who’s said anything close to “poor ickle women”.** People like you, who cannot see past your own experience of anything and cannot fathom how holding back women just because they have chosen (often jointly with a man) to have a child means our whole society is held back, are like dinosaurs

If women are held back in the workplace because they have a child then it's because of others.

If you work hard and prove yourself before maternity, carry on working during pregnancy and then return after leave then we would be on a more equal footing with men.

What happens is many expect to do little during pregnancy as surely they can't be expected to open a box etc, only start a job for the maternity pay, expect to return to the hours they fancy or take years out and then moan about pay. We will never be on an equal footing with men whilst all that goes on.

I agree with Lost, the poor Icke lady thing isn't helping anybody. Saying we need twelve months to file some paperwork simply as we had a child makes us sound useless.

Wanting free or subsidised childcare rather than the parents paying for it just shows how entitled we have become. It doesn't take a genius to work out finances before proceeding to have a baby yet so many seem to put more thought into their daily outfit than working out if they can actually afford a child.

@ItsLikeRainOnYourWeddingDay Yes! We already are. Mother Pukka is speaking at March of the Mummies.

@WhatToDoAboutThis2017 that is how research is done. All research is a sample. It is impossible to conduct research on every person impacted by the topic you are researching.

@BishBoshBashBop This already exists for the gender pay gap. Companies now have to report on their gender pay gap. If you want to understand the process better, see here www.acas.org.uk/index.aspx?articleid=5768

Yes anyone can apply for flexible working - what we are asking for is that companies report on how many flexible requests are made and how many are granted.

Subsidised childcare pays payment calculations have been done by the Women's Budget group - based on Free childcare (Which is not what we are advocating for, we are advocating for subsidised childcare) this is the cost break down:

Public investment in a system of free universal early education and childcare of high quality provided to all children in the UK between the age of 6 months and primary school by qualified staff has long-term benefits for children and their parents, as well as for the economy
Our modelling (using 2014 as reference) shows that if childcare workers are paid a salary equivalent to primary school teachers and all 3.2m children are offered up to 40 hours a week for 48 weeks a year, the annual gross cost would be £55bn (3% of GDP); if pay rates are based on current wage levels by qualification, the investment is £33bn (1.8% of GDP).
Employment creation in childcare services and elsewhere in the economy through multiplier effects would add up to 1.7m full-time equivalent jobs under such a scenario, raising the overall employment rate by up to 4.3 percentage points and the female employment rate by 6.4 percentage points.
Increased tax revenue from additional earnings (including indirect taxation from increased consumption) and reduced spending on social security benefits, has the potential to recoup between 95% and 89% of this annual investment , leaving £1.7bn and £6.1bn net funding need (at current and higher pay rates respectively).
The net funding need compares with a cumulative annual net give away of £5.4bn through raising income tax thresholds above inflation through the 2015-20 parliament (71% of which will go to men).

JoeliBrearley1 I know. There is still absolutely no way 60% of all those 2.2m SAH parents want to, or even would, go back to work.

It is a massively biased oversimplification.

Batteriesallgone fully agree with your point about quality childcare. There is an issue with the way the Government has implemented their 30 hours free scheme which is causing all manner of issues.

* What happens is many expect to do little during pregnancy as surely they can't be expected to open a box etc, only start a job for the maternity pay, expect to return to the hours they fancy or take years out and then moan about pay. We will never be on an equal footing with men whilst all that goes on.*

As we’re all about citing sources here can you cite any research to back up your claims that this is how many women behave?

The first paragraph of my previous post should have been in bold. I was quoting

* Wanting free or subsidised childcare rather than the parents paying for it just shows how entitled we have become. It doesn't take a genius to work out finances before proceeding to have a baby yet so many seem to put more thought into their daily outfit than working out if they can actually afford a child.*

Is it really that difficult to see that this isn’t a case of the odd person mismanaging their finances and wanting someone else to pay for their child to go to a childminder. It’s about a fundamental imbalance in the system which means that women are penalised and can’t go back to work because (for various reasons) they’re priced out of it.